


What It Takes to Heal

by wastefulreverie



Series: PhannieMay Shots 2018 [14]
Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Angst, Aunt Alicia - Freeform, Coming Out, Dissection, Family, Gen, Growing Up, Guilt, Healing, Hurt/Comfort, Identity Reveal, LGBT, Lesbian, Recovery, Secrets, Siblings, Sisters, Trauma, post-reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2019-05-26
Packaged: 2019-09-30 23:51:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17233490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wastefulreverie/pseuds/wastefulreverie
Summary: Through the years, Maddie and Alicia have always had a bond as sisters that allowed them to share everything with each other; no matter how uncomfortable or terrifying. With Danny left traumatized, Alicia opens her doors to him, albeit reluctantly. Staying with his Mom's sister, he slowly learns what it takes to heal.





	1. Girls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for Day 15 of Phanniemay 2018, Girls.

Even long after both of them had grown up, the two sisters confessed their shameful wrongs to each other, trading dirty secrets like a pair of naive little girls. In a way, it kept them close to each other, filling the physical distance between them in their hearts. It was a tradition that began when they were respectively five and six years old, back in their old, creaky bedroom at the country house in Missouri.

Madeline, who was evidently the youngest, had gotten lost in the woods behind their house one day, and was stranded alone for six hours before anyone found her. When Maddie was found, she was lying back against a tree, eyes closed, and fingers nestled in the damp dirt. Her parents were relieved she was okay, and besides warning her from wandering into the woods again, they didn't think twice about the occasion.

Ever since that day Maddie had night terrors, but no one but her elder sister, Alicia knew. Usually around midnight, Maddie would start shaking in her bed, sweat pouring down the little girl's small frame, and she would soon awake in tears. At that point, Alicia would leave her own bed, and crawl under the covers with Maddie, whispering words of reassurance to her younger sister. Alicia never asked what the dreams were about, she simply comforted Maddie until the two of them would fall back into a lull of warm, tender sleep, relishing in their childhood innocence.

However, about a month after the incident in the woods, Maddie confessed to Alicia what had truly happened that day. The two girls sat on their wooden, bedroom floor, both pretending to act quite serious for a pair of typically devious sisters.

“So what happened?” Alicia asked Maddie. “You said there was more to what happened than ya just gettin' lost.”

“It sounds... silly,” Maddie warned. “But, there was this little shadow that whispered to me, tellin' me to follow her into the woods.”

“A shadow?” Alicia questioned. “What'd'ya mean a shadow?”

“Like... a shape of something, only it's not really there, and it's dark. That's what shadows are, right?”

“I dunno,” Alicia said. “But I'd never heard of a shadow that can talk.”

“It _did_ talk, though,” Maddie stressed. “And – and it showed me the way to this really pretty tree, and it told me that it was in the ground.”

“Of course the tree was in the ground,” Alicia deadpanned. “That's sort of obvious.”

“No,” Maddie corrected. “The shadow took me to a tree, and then told me that the _shadow_ was in the ground. It's... the shadow's real body.”

“Now that doesn't make no sense,” Alicia said.

“I tried to feel it in the ground...” Maddie whispered, leaning closer towards Alicia, “and I think I saw what the shadow really looked like before it was a shadow. It was... this cat.”

Alicia looked slightly perturbed. “How can the shadow be a cat?”

“That's just it,” Maddie said grimly. “I don't think it was a shadow; I think it was a ghost.”

“Ghosts aren't real, Maddie. They're just stories.”

“But this _was_ real,” Maddie protested. “I just know it! And it was creepy too. And I – I – I can't stop dreaming about it. And then I remember the shadow is the cat, and if the shadow is the cat, then the cat must've died... and that....” she sniffled a little bit, “that tree was a grave.”

“Maddie, you're only five, you don't need to be thinking about this stuff. None of it's real at all, you can trust me. Besides, I'm your sister, if there's someone you can trust, it should be me. Not some weird not even real shadow you thought you saw.”

Maddie frowned. “It just... felt so real, though, Ally. I don't know how to stop thinking about it.”

“You will,” Alicia promised. “With time.”

* * *

 

Over the years, the continued their rituals on their bedroom floor, igniting the other with secrets. After Maddie's confession about the shadow cat, she didn't talk to Alicia about ghosts for a very long time, even though the experience always lingered somewhere in the back of her mind. She wanted to forget it, but something about it just struck her as intriguing, despite the traumatic context of the memory. She decided that she would return to thinking about the shadow one day, and find sufficient answers.

When the Alicia started middle school, they eventually stopped their secret confessing tradition, electing to go their separate ways rather than be the inseparable duo they'd been all throughout childhood. Alicia made lots of new friends at their middle school, while Maddie devoted herself more to her studies, appeasing her parents' critical expectation for success out of at least one of their daughters. It wasn't until Maddie's Sophomore year of High School when Alicia desperately asked Maddie to let her confess a secret that she needed off of her chest.

“I – I did something _really_ bad,” Alicia started. “Like, I don't know how I'm gonna live with myself after this, Mads. If anyone ever found out, I am _over_. Mom and Dad might even disown me, it's that bad. I can't even... can't even process what I did....”

“What was it that you did?” Maddie asked, carefully. She had known Alicia was serious from the start, and with every passing second the feeling of somberness grew heavier in the air.

“About a month ago,” Alicia said in a small voice, shame seeping into her words, “I found out I was pregnant. And I... didn't want the baby, and I didn't want Mom and Dad, and even the father to know about it. So I... I did... I can't even say it,” she wiped a few tears from her face. “I've never felt so bad about something in my life. I... ki – killed it, Mads. Just so I didn't have to be a mother. I'm... _disgusting_.”

Maddie was silent with horror as she processed Alicia's confession. Something that... inhumane sickened her to her core; taking an innocent life because one was unprepared to nurture it. Irresponsible. Murder. Yet, this was her sister, and she could understand _why_ she did it. It made sense logically, since Alicia truly _wasn't_ in a place to be a mother, at all. Putting her personal disdain aside, Maddie reached out to comfort Alicia's self-inflicted guilt.

They were more than girls, yet this was just another one of their tiny, little secrets.

* * *

 

Maddie was in college when she called Alicia on the phone, almost indecipherable through her sobs. After graduating, Alicia had moved to Arkansas with her boyfriend and they had bought a farm together, while Maddie pursued an outlandish childhood inquiry in Wisconsin with her two friends, Jack and Vlad. The last the sisters had heard from each other, they were both happy. But now, Maddie called Alicia was news of guilt and tragedy.

“ _I_ put him in the hospital, Alicia. _I_ did it! Vlad's life will never be the same because _I_ pressed him to help us on this overrated experiment to some dimension that might now even exist. I can't even visit him, I'm so guilty about it. He probably hates me now, and he has every right to! God... this is just a mess. I'm sorry I'm bothering you about this, these are all my problems.”

“Stop right there Madeline,” Alicia demanded. “You are _my_ Goddamn sister, and I will always be here to listen and support you, no matter what.”

“That means a lot,” Maddie hiccuped. “But I still don't know what I'm going to do.... Jack says he sent a get-well card to him, but that just feels so impersonal. I should go see him, right? It's been over two weeks... and according to the doctors he's just not recovering. And it's still, undoubtedly, my fault....”

“Look,” Alicia said, “from what I gather from this, you feel guilty to go see him, yet you still want to help him because you're his friend and the person who did this?”

“Y – yeah,” Maddie replied, quietly.

“Then how about you try to help the doctors cure him? He was infected with your device, and if he isn't getting better, it's because of that thing. You and Jack are the only ones who know anything about it, so if you can figure out where you went wrong with that portal-whatsit, then maybe you can get Vlad out of the hospital.”

“It's not that easy, Alicia,” Maddie said.

“You're Madeline Ann McMurtrey. You can do anything if you put your mind to it, and it's a realistic way to help Vlad out of the hospital and to relieve you of your guilt.” Alicia paused. “Besides, you should stop saying everything is your fault. If Vlad didn't also want to work on the portal, he would've have been there. All three of you knew there were hazards, didn't you?”

“I suppose... yeah, we did,” Maddie admitted.

“There. While you can say some of it is your fault, it's not _all_ your fault.”

“I guess that's fair,” Maddie nodded. “You actually did make me feel better, Alicia. Thank you.”

Alicia smiled, “That's what sisters are for. I gotta look out for my girl.”

* * *

 

Many years later, after Maddie had graduated college, married, and given birth to Danny and Jazz, ages three and five, Alicia called Maddie with another confession.

“Mads,” Alicia said, shakily, “I don't know if I can stay in this marriage anymore.”

“Why not?” Maddie asked. She had sensed for a while now things were tense between them, because every time Alicia spoke with Maddie she blatantly avoided talking about her marriage. The last time she had spoken with her sister was Christmas, and even then she neglected to mention her husband.

“I... oh, it's bad, Maddie. I'm just not... attracted to him anymore. We fight all the time and...” she took a shuddering breath, speaking quietly as possible into the phone, “I think I might like women.”

“Oh,” Maddie said, taken completely off guard. Of all the reasons for her sister to want a divorce, she hadn't seen that one. Sure, she had always been more... rugged than most girls, more tough. But so had Maddie, they both grew up in the south and were strong, independent women. She had never looked past that within her sister, but looking back, some things made some sense.

In Alicia's teenage years she would fool around with boys, but it always seemed like she was forcing herself into relationships for no evident reason. Like, she forced herself to love someone else because it's what society expected of her.... And it was shockingly clear that only half of Alicia's heart had been in the best of her relationships, but Maddie had just assumed that was Alicia's rebel streak, her sense of self reliance. But apparently not. Maddie was enlightened to a different side of Alicia, the side that only acquainted with men because it was what was supposed to be 'right', not what she felt within herself.

Maddie could empathize with that fear of going against the normal standard, it's why she didn't pursue her passion in ghost research until she had moved out and enrolled in college. After all, you cannot engage your passion until you've denied it, thus testing it's strength.

Maddie made up her mind a laughed a little bit. She had to be accepting of Alicia, downplay her shock, “Is that it? You had me worried, Alicia, I thought you were going to tell me he was abusive or something.”

“Mads, this is serious, I don't – I don't know what I even want anymore. Mom and Dad always said that-”

“Mom and Dad said a lot of things,” Maddie said. “It doesn't mean they're true. After all, I'm their biggest disappointment, remember? Instead of an engineer or a doctor I pursued ectology. Our parent's views on life are outdated, so don't let them get to you. There's nothing _wrong_ with you, Alicia. You just have a different preference, and that's okay. You've tried to see if being with a man is your taste, and now you can say it's not. What's wrong with that?”

Alicia was silent on the other side of the call, until she sniffled, “Thanks, Mads. I needed that. I _really_ needed that. You don't know how much....”

“Nobody should have to refuse their identity if they can help it,” Maddie told her sister, keeping an optimistic tone.

* * *

 

For a long time, Maddie thought she believed that statement. However, roughly eleven years later, she learned she was wrong, and perhaps blind to the true consequences of having to hide your true self. And it was all because of her previously unashamed prejudice against ghosts, which she was forced to reconsider.

Alicia received Maddie's call sometime around two in the morning, instantly sending an immediate wave of fear into the older sister. Maddie would never call so late deliberately, so that must mean that it's some sort of emergency. In the four seconds before she picked up the phone, Alicia braced herself for a worst case scenario: major injury, chronic disease, possibly even a death. She was ill prepared when Maddie immediately started rambling through choked sobs.

“Alicia, I – I – I don't know what I did,” Maddie cried. “Danny – he – he wasn't supposed to... wasn't supposed to-” her voice cracked and she broke off into a rage of tears.

“Mads, what happened with Danny?” she asked softly. She hadn't been around her nephew much, but it had been a pleasant surprise when he and Jazz had flown in months ago to meet up with their parents for her tenth divorceversary. Even though she didn't know much about Danny, she still cared for him nonetheless, and cared for Maddie's welfare even more.

Slowly, Maddie's cries lessened, and she replied in a small, slightly delirious voice.

“He wasn't supposed to be him. Anyone... but him,” Maddie muttered, incoherently.

“Maddie,” Alicia said, carefully, “you're not making any sense.”

“I – I know,” she gulped. “I just need to talk to someone. And I – I can't talk to anyone else. You've always been my go to girl for support, Alicia. And I've done something beyond forgiveness. So... unforgivable....”

“Nothing is unforgivable,” Alicia reasoned.

“What I did was,” Maddie countered. “I _hurt_ my child, Ally. Danny... is hurt because... of me. Just like Vlad was. It's always me. I keep hurting everyone important to me! There's something _wrong_ with me!”

“What do you mean you hurt Danny?” Alicia asked, on edge. She noticed Maddie hadn't called her Ally since they were little kids.

“He was a ghost... and then he wasn't. He was... we captured him, as a – a – _specimen_ -” she choked, “-and then... there was so much blood. We kept... kept... testing and all we saw was the ghost... until he passed out and....” Maddie gave a strangled cry, “Then he was my baby, and he was bleeding everywhere.”

Alicia's fear instantly increased tenfold, as she struggled to make sense of Maddie's faulty explanation. “Are you saying you... experimented on Danny? On purpose?”

“No! Yes, but no! We didn't know it was him... we didn't know... should've known... all my fault... always _my_ fault. He still hasn't woken up and – and-”

“Maddie, you're gonna have to start at the beginning,” Alicia said. “Why did you do... experiment, on Danny?”

“We didn't on _him_!” Maddie protested helplessly. “It was Phantom! Danny was him! And... God, why him?”

“Please, Maddie, you're talking yourself into circles, you need to calm down. Please, just start from the beginning. I'm not understanding. Take a few breaths first,” she added.

Maddie heeded Alicia's advice and breathed heavily into the phone, regaining some temperance.

“I know you never believed in the ghosts...” Maddie started, “but they've been coming out of our portal for months, not long after we visited you last. There's been this one ghost, who's frequented Amity more often than the others, yet he's the hardest to catch. Phantom. And tonight... we caught him off guard, and brought him to the lab for a procedure. Ghosts aren't... supposed to... _pain_. And – and so we did things to him, basic dissection, nothing too intrusive for a being that's already dead. But Phantom... was Danny. My son... according to Jazz – who's known the entire time! – has two identities. And he's human, yet he can turn into a ghost. And when we experimented on his ghost, we hurt Danny, the human, underneath.... Alicia, do you understand now? I _hurt_ my child, irreversibly. He'll never forgive me. Nothing will ever... be the same. How can I even face him, knowing that I've torn him apart from the inside, that I'm the reason he'll have dissection scars for the rest of his life?”

Alicia was speechless. Even when explained, she couldn't understand. How could someone be both a human and a ghost? And... how could something like this even happen in the first place? What kind of messed up life had her sister's family been living? What could Alicia even say to help fix this irreparable situation? This was something out of a horror film, a mother unknowingly experimenting on her own child, and almost instantly Alicia felt sick. She grieved for Maddie, and longed to offer words of support, but there were none.

When Alicia didn't answer, Maddie continued her self-diatribe, “Who even expects their son to be a ghost, Alicia? When did I ever get this screwed up?”

“I don't know much of the details, Maddie,” Alicia said, “and there's a lot more I don't know, and I want everything to be okay, but I don't know what to tell you. But... if things get worse, you're always welcome at my place. We're girls who look out for each other... and if it's not you that needs a temporary escape, I – I know we've never been close, but I'll extend my offer to Danny, too. If either of you need away from each other, for healing, my doors are always open.”

This time, neither sister had an answer. But, until Maddie's living nightmare was alleviated, no answer would suffice. This was between Maddie's family, and Alicia prayed that her sister would work everything out in the end, like she always did. But, if the worst did come to play, Alicia McMurtrey could definitely keep a secret.

Because trading secrets and giving advice are what girls do, regardless of age.

 


	2. Sisters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for Day 8 of Phanniemay 2019, Sisters.

After years of routine, Alicia figured that her body's natural clock was much more reliable than her alarm clock. She rose when the sun rose and often found herself opening the door for her three little rascals (Meryl, Mercury, and Casey) by 7am. The three dogs ran out into the yard, heeding Alicia's non-verbal warnings to not wander off. Satisfied, she let her dogs run wild for a few minutes while she tended to her vegetable garden. She usually didn't work on her garden until later in the day, but lately some kind of critter had been eating her tomatoes at night. She suspected it was a raccoon, but until she knew exactly what was eating her plants, she wasn't going to take action.

Alicia ushered her dogs back into her house, spitting light-hearted insults until they placated enough to obey her. She poured them their usual breakfast (two-thirds dry food, one-third wet food) and ensured that everyone sticked to their own portion. Mercury had a nasty habit of stealing Meryl and Casey's meals behind Alicia's back.

Once she was sure that all her dogs were in line, Alicia began cooking her own breakfast. Today she felt like having cheese grits, but she wasn't sure how Danny would feel about that. Maddie never liked grits as a child, so Alicia decided to play it safe and just scramble some eggs instead. By the time that she had the eggs cooking, it was almost 7:30. Making sure that they wouldn't burn, Alicia left the eggs on the stove and proceeded down the hall to her guest bedroom.

She knocked lightly on the door, ensuring that she wasn't barging in. When Danny didn't reply, she cracked open the door and found her nephew lying exactly where he had been at 3am last night. She'd woken up for a glass of water and was paranoid that he'd run off into the woods like he'd done during the first night. Since then, she'd made sure that Danny understood he had a curfew and couldn't just traipse into the night whenever he felt like it.

She crossed his room (which was bare with the exception of her mother's antique armoire) and stood over his bed. He was laying on his side, his black hair swept messily over his face, almost masking the tiny red scars that now lined his jaw. Alicia had learned quickly that Danny was a heavy sleeper, so without any restraint, she started prodding his less injured arm.

"Danny," she spoke softly. "Danny it's time to wake up."

He groaned incoherently and tried to shove her away, so she backed off for a moment. Maddie had advised that physically crowding Danny was a bad idea….

"I've almost got breakfast done," Alicia told him, as he slowly blinked sleep out of his eyes. "Scrambled eggs are alright, right?"

"S'long they're not contaminated," he replied wearily, curling more into his sheets.

"Okay. You can get up now, I assume? If I go back to the kitchen you won't go back to sleep?" she clarified.

"Hunnhh, _yeah_ ," he nodded. "Awake now."

"Good," Alicia said. "It'll be about five minutes."

He didn't respond so she left his room and returned to the stove. She made sure that the eggs weren't burning and decided to put on some bacon for good measure. That boy definitely needed his protein. And speaking of what he needed….

Alicia crossed the room and found the shoebox she stored her own medication in. There, she found a plain white bottle with 'DANNY ONLY' written in black Sharpie. She popped out two green pills and pocketed them. It was risking keeping Danny's medication with her own, but Maddie had also suggested that she put it somewhere where Danny wouldn't find it. Just in case he decided to throw out the bottle. Her niece Jazz confirmed that was something that Danny might do.

She put her shoebox back on a shelf in the living room and returned to finally plate up their breakfast. By the time that she placed breakfast on the table, Danny had managed to drag himself out of bed and onto his feet. She was a little proud of him, since he hadn't been able to do that yesterday. Today he was wearing a plain, grey, cotton t-shirt with black sweats. She knew that he preferred jeans to sweatpants, but because of his remaining injuries, he was advised to wear looser clothing.

Danny sat in the chair opposite of her, looking anywhere but the plate of food in front of him. Routinely, Alicia slipped the pills out of her pocket and placed them in front of him. He seemed to sag with disappointment, but compliantly swallowed the pills anyway.

Alicia was glad that he didn't fight her about that. He'd made his discomfort about the medication plain and simple, but he never outright refused to take them. Maddie had stressed the importance of Danny's medication, how she'd manufactured it specifically to his 'unique physiology' so he could heal thoroughly. Even though Danny also understood that, he never seemed pleased that he was getting better.

They were ready to eat now, but Alicia still had one more ritual to do before digging in. As a firm Christian, she always prayed before she ate. She said her prayer and gestured Danny to join her in eating.

Danny took a few moments to start, eyeing the eggs distrustfully, but eventually followed Alicia and started eating his meal. He had only been with her for four days now, but she could already tell that being with her was helping his health. He was more round-faced now, unlike when Maddie and Jazz had first dropped him off; gaunt and pale, staring intently at some imaginary point on the horizon.

At the time, Jazz had pulled Alicia to the side and informed her that it would be best if she didn't give Danny a choice to eat. Danny would avoid meals unless someone deliberately coerced him into eating. When he was at home, neither of his parents wanted to overstep, so that left him missing a lot of meals.

"It's just… hard for us to interact with him," Jazz looked down. "Mom and Dad know what happened was their fault, and they don't want to trigger him any more. And I can only do so much…. That's why I think this is so important for him to stay with you. It means a lot to me, and Mom, that you're letting him stay with you after… _you know_."

Alicia did know: _after the vivisection_.

Maddie's first phone call had sent Alicia into a severe panic. Her claims of experimenting on her son - who didn't look like her son - were absolutely _wild_. Incomprensible. It had taken many more conversations for Alicia to understand the entire situation. Even then… she still didn't fully understand what Danny's supposed duality entailed. How her sister could just mistake her child for an otherworldly entity. But Alicia kept an open mind, a forgiving mind. Because after all, she would do anything for her sister. And if it meant letting her traumatized nephew stay with her for a few weeks, Alicia would do that.

The first day he stayed with her was overshadowed by a general air of discomfort. Alicia didn't know what she had been expecting. Maddie always spoke about how ghosts were unfeeling, shallow imitations of human behavior. Given his… _condition…_ Alicia's assumption was that he would be inhuman and cold. Danny, despite being a partial-ghost was worse than she expected. Rather than inhuman, he was seemingly normal. He behavior and expressions were human, just… traumatized. _Broken_.

He was still the little kid she had babysitted during the holidays: his father's dark hair and blue eyes; his mother's complexion, nose, and cheekbones. The child who sat captivated in front of the television, squealing in excitement at space documentaries. On Christmas morning, he was pensive, attempting to be excited but unable to feel joy because of his parents' ongoing argument. She took him up to his bedroom and showed him how to play Blackjack with some of his new 'galaxy' playing cards.

He was still the little boy that she had taught to catch lightning bugs with his sister the next summer. Unlike Jazz, he was the one who cried in the morning when the luminescent bugs had suffocated in the mason jar. She had promised him that next time they would punch enough holes in the lid so that the bugs would live all night. That had been years ago, one of the only times that they visited her; there was no next time.

As a result of his trauma, Danny's interactions with Alicia were limited. He never spoke much and seemed to get startled easily. One time, when Alicia had walked into the living room, she saw him jump for a moment. She was several feet away from him, but she swore he mumbled "not Mom" under his breath. Alicia couldn't help but wince out of sympathy.

Still, it had only been four days, but was improving. She had gotten him to eat, so that was something at least. It was only a matter of time that he regained some trust in the people around him….

Alicia put her fork down. Danny was focusing on his food, intently making effort to swallow the eggs. Well, now was a good time as ever to talk to him….

"I was thinking of going into town today," Alicia announced. "I need to restock on groceries, just the simple stuff. I'd like if you'd come with me and pick out some snacks you like."

He slowly looked up from his plate and met eye-contact with Alicia. His eyes were guarded, yet she could still sense some emotion lurking underneath his facade.

"Okay. That's fine," he responded almost robotically.

Danny returned to his battle with his breakfast, emphasizing each bite, and Alicia nearly groaned. Hopefully gradual reintroduction into society would benefit him.

* * *

The town was a twenty minute drive from Alicia's house. It wasn't much, just a small community of about a hundred residents with a few shops and a single school. Alicia asked what music Danny wanted to listen to in the car and he'd just shrugged, "Anything but country music."

The drive was silent except for the soft melody of pop music.

The local grocery store was empty save for its employees: the cashier, the grocery clerk, and the attendant from the joint butchery. It was a tedious trip. Alicia pushed the cart and occasionally had Danny reach for items that were on shelves too high for her to reach. By the end of their trip, they had amassed milk, eggs, bread, breakfast items, sandwich ingredients, and ample snacks for Danny. Alicia had also seen him eyeing some astronaut stickers so she snuck those in the cart as a surprise.

Just before they headed over to checkout, Alicia remembered she needed to buy get some fresh meat for dinner. She also considered buying some scraps for the dogs; she did that every once in a while as a treat. So she directed the cart with Danny in tow towards the butcher without sparing a second thought.

"Whaddya need today, Miss 'Licia?" Mr. Davis asked. "I got some half-pound steaks in'tha back. Fresher than these ones 'ere on display."

"That'd be nice," she smiled. She turned to Danny, "You're okay with steaks, right hon?"

Danny didn't answer. Instead, he stood completely stiff, zoning out at the cutlets of meat on display. She nudged him, but he was completely unresponsive. It didn't take her long to figure out that there was something wrong, that something had triggered him. But what would…? _The meat_. Something about the sight of the meat had upset him; the slaughtered slabs of animal flesh displayed like morbid souvenirs.

Ignoring Mr. Davis's odd look, she stood in front of Danny, blocking his view. "Danny," she repeated. "Do you want to go wait for me at the register?" she asked softly.

Recognition graced Danny's eyes and he shook his head, clearing whatever intrusive thoughts had latched onto his consciousness. "I uh-" he frowned, focusing on the floor checkered with white and blue tiles, "-it was the smell. Reminded me of… of when..."

"I know." She was tempted to put a hand on his shoulder but refrained from making physical contact with him - that would only trigger him more. "Wait by the gumball machine by the door and I'll be there in a moment."

He nodded before walking away. Alicia noticed that when he walked, he only stepped on the blue tiles.

"What wassat about?" Mr. Davis asked, once Danny was out of earshot. "I know you ain't got no kids."

"That's my nephew," she replied. "He's staying with me for a few weeks for personal reasons. The sight of meat makes him a bit sick - I happened to forget."

Mr. Davis smiled. He only broke character when Alicia wasn't looking, cautiously eyeing the frail boy staring at the broken gumball machine.

* * *

Alicia hadn't felt up to preparing steaks for dinner that same night, so instead she cooked she and Danny grilled cheese sandwiches. She hadn't had grilled cheese in quite a while, but Maddie had told her over the phone a while back that it was one of Danny's comfort foods. She had to admit, it tasted better than she remembered.

That night, Danny went to his room at about seven o'clock. She stayed in the living room flipping between the news and PBS (she didn't pay for cable) until about eleven. On her way to bed, she nearly tripped over a warm mass of fur in the dark. Once she realized which dog had almost caused her to collide with the wall, she knit her eyebrows in frustrated. " _Mercy_ ," she hissed. He was a mischievous bastard, always getting under her feet. "You Goddamned _idiot_."

Mercury stared blankly at her, his thick brown fur masking most of his brown eyes. He sat perfectly still in front of Danny's bedroom door, silenting conveying his want. Alicia's anger dissolved; Mercury wanted to be with Danny?

She had no idea what time Danny usually went to sleep. She knew that he was usually asleep sometime between 10pm and 3am, but she didn't know precisely when. The lights in his room were off, but that wasn't a foolproof indicator that he had went to bed yet. Carefully, she drew open the door, blocking Mercury with her legs so he wouldn't jump onto Danny's bed.

There was a dim green light in Danny's room, casting eerie shadows on the walls. Alicia didn't recall Danny having any sort of flashlight, until she saw the source of the weird light. Danny was sitting up in his bed with a book in his lap. Two lamps of green light inhabited his eyes where his pupils should be, completely illuminating his face in a ghastly manner.

For a moment, Alicia almost considered screaming. Until she remembered that this was normal, well, normal for Danny. This was the first significant indication, other than his skittish behavior, that Danny was something truly… not human. Well, more accurately, 'human plus some'. It was so easy to ignore that Danny had some sort of ghostly nature about him. But this was undeniable, this was something that Alicia couldn't erase from her mind. It wasn't necessarily even scary, just… unexpected. Unnerving.

Alicia retreated back into the hallway. Clearing her mind and her resolve, this time she knocked on Danny's door. She could hear the sound of pages fluttering as Danny clamored to put his book away. Then, a lamp turned on. "Come in," he said.

She opened the door, and this time she didn't hold Mercury back. The scruffy dog cantered past Alicia and eagerly propelled himself onto Danny's bed. Danny flinched back in momentary alarm before realizing that it was just Mercury. He calmed for a moment and reached out to pet the dog's mangled fur. Mercury relaxed into Danny's strokes and plopped down onto his belly.

"He's been hanging outside of your room," Alicia explained, smiling at the sight. "I think he wants to be in here with you. Are you okay with that, or you'd rather me keep him in my room?"

Danny looked at the dog carefully, reaching his hand out again to ensure that Mercury wouldn't turn on him and bite him. Mercury just drooled happily and wagged his tail. "He can stay," Danny decided.

When she left his room, he turned off the lamp again. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw another glint of green, but this time she ignored it. It wouldn't do dwell on things that were irrelevant in the long run.

* * *

A few days later, Alicia found that she had neglected her usual lawn care routine and had allowed her yard to become overgrown. She figured that having Danny help her a bit with pulling the weeds and mowing the lawn might help get him more engaged in things. After all, if his injuries were to heal, a little physical activity would help put him back in motion.

"I think I can handle the lawn mower," Alicia said. "It's the riding kinda mower. I got it as a gift about six years ago from your parents. I don't feel comfortable letting you operate it because I've known some of my friends' kids that've used them and had'm topple over on them, pinning them to the ground."

"You know that I've done much more dangerous things than drive a mower, right?" Danny crossed his arms.

He was much more talkative today since Alicia hadn't given him a choice with helping out. Most days he was silent because she just let him do what he wanted. But not today. It was almost like she was seeing the old side of Danny, before the incident. The same snarky teenager that Maddie would tell her about whenever they got the chance to speak.

"Still, don't wanna take the risk, 'Mr. Danger'," she air quoted.

"Fine," Danny tsked. "What can I do?"

"You can do the weed wacker. It's not that difficult to use," she pointed to the tool she'd pulled out of her shed minutes earlier. "You just hold it away from you and use it to trim the parts of the grass that the mower misses. I got some glasses you can put on in case any rocks come flying up at your face."

"Nah, I'll be fine," Danny dismissed.

"I'd rather you put on some protective eyewear, though," Alicia tried.

Danny shrugged. "I'll be fine," he repeated.

Alicia didn't want to let him work without glasses, but she wasn't in the mood to argue with him. So, against her better judgement, she went ahead and started to demonstrate how to operate the weed wacker. He seemed to get the general gist of it and didn't indicate any problems… until Alicia made him turn it on.

It was positioned on the ground at a safe angle, so Danny bent down and pressed the trigger. Moments later, the machine successfully whirred to life. The sounds it emitted were low and guttural, like a caged animal growling. The tool itself vibrated angrily, startling Danny for a moment.

"You alright?" Alicia checked.

"Yeah," he nodded. "Just took me off guard."

"Good, so next you're gonna wanna hold it parallel to the ground, gripping the handle about at the same height as your waist."

Danny did as she told him with ease. "This isn't as hard as using the Fenton Bazooka," he commented.

Alicia raised a brow, "The _what_?"

Danny looked around nervously, appearing trapped for a moment. "Uh - Mom's ghost bazooka thing. It's really heavy."

She was taken aback for a moment; this was one of the first times that Danny had mentioned his parents or ghosts since he'd arrived Alicia's.

"So if you've handled that, meer garden equipment is nothing to you, huh?" she teased, trying to show him that she was comfortable with it. If she acted like it wasn't a big deal, maybe he'd open up and stop treating it like it was. Instead, her joking elicited the opposite reaction she'd hoped for.

His voice was rough like sandpaper, forced, " _Yeah_."

Alicia bit her lip. _Whoops_. She hadn't intended to make it more awkward. Now was a good time to drop the subject and step far, far away from it. So, Alicia continued her demonstration and showed Danny how to precisely trim weeds that were too bulky for the mower.

After she felt that he was comfortable with the task, she left to it and left to get the mower. However, before she could pull the mower out of the shed, she realized something sounded wrong. The weed wacker seemed to get angrier, like the blades were being blocked by something, trying to spin but being held back. She tripped over a watering can and ran out of the shed to see what was wrong.

Danny was near the edge of the yard, standing still with the weed wacker digging straight into the dirt. The weed wacker wasn't supposed to be used like that - if he put the machine head into the ground, the motor wouldn't be able to spin. With the motor unable to spin, it could start to smoke and potentially catch fire.

Alicia was about to ask what the _hell_ he was doing when she realized; Danny wasn't exactly standing still, he was hyperventilating. From where she stood, about fifteen feet away, she could see the panicked rise of his chest as he struggled to breath in air.

Out of all the times for him to have a panic attack… holding a dangerous piece of gardening equipment was definitely not a good one.

Alicia started running, no _sprinting_ , across the yard. She had to quickly calm Danny down so he wouldn't hurt himself. _Why had she thought that this was a good idea?_

"Danny," she stood behind him. "Breath, _breath_."

He was still holding the weed wacker, driving it into the ground. His grip on the tool was so tight that his hands were practically chalk white. He continued to hyperventilate, his eyes cloudy with faraway terror; he was having a flashback. At the grocery store, he'd only been partially triggered by the smell of the meat, but she could see it in his eyes. Mentally, he was back _there_ \- back… when Jack and Mads….

She had to get him to let go of the weed wacker so she could turn it off.

"Danny, listen to me. You have to let go of the weed wacker. It's… it's just a gardening tool, Danny. It might catch on fire, you have to let go."

She waved her hand in front of his face and realized that he wasn't blinking. His breaths were getting faster and faster now.

"You're… you're with me, Danny," she reassured. "You're not… not in danger. You _just have to_ let go of the weed wacker. _Breath slowly_."

Some semblance of recognition seeped into his eyes; it wasn't much, but was enough for his grip on the weed wacker to slacken just enough for Alicia to pry his fingers off of the tool. She removed Danny's hand from the handle, grabbed the tool herself, and turned it off before it could do any damage. She abandoned it on the ground and turned back to Danny.

There were tears welling in his eyes and he pressed his hands against his chest, pressing his diaphragm. He wasn't hyperventilating as bad, but he was still smitten with the confines of his mind. His lip was quivering like he wanted to say something, maybe scream, but he was forcing himself to stay silent. His knees were also shaking, and Alicia swore if there was any wind that day, he'd probably already be on the ground.

"Danny?" her own voice came out quiet, unsure. He didn't respond. He looked straight ahead, focusing on a fixed point on the horizon. "Danny," she tried again, louder. Still, he clutched his chest and gazed at a horror only he could see.

She was afraid to touch him, but she didn't know if he would respond to any verbal implorations. Carefully, Alicia reached for his shoulder, hoping to pull him back into reality. He flinched at her touch, his weak knees almost giving out and causing him to fall. Despite that, he kept himself upright. He began to blink the tears out of his eyes, reassessing his surroundings.

Alicia removed her hand from his shoulder as if she was touching an iron. "Danny… are you… alright?"

He hiccuped. Deliriously, he tightened his hold on his chest at the sudden spasm. "N - _no_." He choked out a sob. "'M sorry. I - I-"

"It's okay, hon," she comforted. Her fear dissipated; right now this boy needed some consolation, someone to soothe him. She moved slowly, making sure that he was okay with her hugging him. She wrapped her arms around his quaking form and gently patted his back. " _I'm_ sorry that this happened."

He shook his head, "I ca - can't do anything. Can't even trim a _freaking_ lawn cause the weed wacker's too _loud_ ," he lamented bitterly. He squeezed his eyes shut and mumbled, "Because the loud noise is too much like... when..."

Alicia had assumed that the noise from the weed wacker had triggered his flashback, but now she _knew_ that was definitely the case. She didn't like what that implied. When Maddie described what they did to Danny, Alicia had just imagined a surgery-like operation - scalpels and slicing up flesh. If the noise had anything to do with his memories, then what else had they done to him? Exactly what gory tools had they used to tear him apart?

"That's not your fault," she reasoned, doing her best to keep her voice steady. This revelation was tugging on her heart and she didn't know if she could keep it together. "I understand. Just… give it time. The memories will fade."

"No they won't," he denied. "They're always going to be this bad. 'M always going to be a _fucking mess_."

"You say that now, but things always do get better, Danny. I promise," she recalled her own struggle with overcoming the past. Her loveless marriage, her abortion as a teenager, her struggle with her own homophobia. After so many years, when the bad memories reached their peak.

She almost lost her mind, herself, but then she worked to get herself out. To dig herself out of that mental hole and to relinquish her shallow marriage. She accepted herself and accepted that her husband didn't need to be with a woman who didn't love him. Once she had done that, it was so much easier to move on… for the bad memories to fade.

"You're just fifteen, you can move on from this - you just have to learn to let go of that pain. Leave it in the past. It'll be hard, but you can do it."

She hoped that in Danny's case that he only left his experiences in the past, not his parents. But if that's what it took for him to recover… she wouldn't hold it against him. Though, only time would tell.

He sniffled. "I don't - I don't know…."

"You don't have to know right now. How about you go inside and watch a DVD? I have a bunch of 'em under the TV that you can choose from."

"O-" he hiccuped again, "-okay."

* * *

Later, after she had finished the yard work by herself, she came back inside and found Danny sitting on the couch. The TV was off, even though Alicia had helped him pick out a movie, a Disney one. But he was just blankly staring at the wall. If he turned the movie off right after she left, he must've at least been sitting there for an hour. Doing nothing.

She didn't mention it. Instead, she forced smile and left to go make dinner. She figured that he needed some time to just think after what had happened earlier, since putting him to work only made things worse. She was scared of that happening again.

* * *

Danny wanted to get on the Internet. He had his phone, which had limited data (whatever that meant) but he wanted to use a computer. So, Alicia suggested that they both go to the public library. She said that she'd check out a book while he 'surfed the worldwide web'. He only facepalmed and told her she was old. Admittedly, Alicia was okay with that.

The twenty-minute drive didn't feel as tense as their last trip to town. Danny tuned the radio to a rock station he liked and bobbed his head to the music. She couldn't say she liked his music, but it was refreshing to see such a staggering change in his demeanor.

"You know this song?" she asked, amused. He was mouthing the lyrics and looked more energetic than she'd ever seen him.

"Kinda?" he shrugged. "I know it because of my friend Sam."

"And he listens to a lot of this music?" she asked.

"Yeah, uh, _she's_ goth," Danny explained. "Well, more like punk-goth. She's always changing it. Whatever makes her parents angriest."

"Sounds like the sorta girl that'd be your friend," Alicia smirked.

He tilted his head. "And what's that mean?"

"You seem like the type to get into trouble. Not bad trouble," she assured, "just to… uh," she didn't know where she was going with this.

"I get it," he said. "Trust me, I've had enough adults in my life label me as a troublemaker. And given the circumstances, they wouldn't all be wrong."

He didn't sound pleased with himself, but he also didn't sound bitter about it. He leaned forward and turned up the music, drowning out the lag in conversation.

They arrived at the library around 11am. It was a weekday, so not many people were there. There were a handful of retired townsfolk using the library computers to check their Facebook profiles, a mother and her son in the children's section, and an old woman browsing some cookbooks.

Danny logged onto one of the computer stations furthest from the elderly people. He plugged his earbuds into the computer and slipped into his own little world.

Meanwhile, Alicia slipped into the romance fiction aisle, hoping to reread one of her favorite lesbian romance novels. There weren't many, and they were well hidden too, but Alicia knew the selection. A few years back, she'd come out to one of the librarians and requested her to discreetly stock some queer-literature.

That friend didn't work at the library anymore, but thankfully the new librarian continued the tradition of hiding the books where they weren't too obvious. In a small town like this, if any of these books were found by the wrong person, it'd be scandalous. Joke's on them: she's been doing this for years. Sure, Alicia could've just bought some books - but to tell the truth, that took the thrill out of feeling like she got away with something.

Once she found her book, she sat at a table not too far away from the computers. From where she was sitting, she could generally make out what Danny was looking at on his screen. Right now, he was on one of those social media sites looking at funny pictures. She let her eyes linger on his screen for a moment before she turned her attention over to her book. She'd read this one enough times, so she started three chapters in; the first two were just boring set-up chapters. The _real_ action started in chapter three - the main love interest was introduced.

After a while, Alicia lost track of time. By the time she got to eleven, she realized that it was almost 1pm. She was starting to feel a bit hungry and wondered if Danny would like to go out to lunch. There was a cafe nearby with really good reuben sandwiches and cherry Coke. She put her book down and looked glanced over to see what Danny was looking at on the computer now.

He was on some sort of news website. Given by the look of it, it was an Amity Park news site. Danny was checking up on what was happening back home. That was understandable.

She stood up from her table, leaving her book out of sight (she didn't want Danny to see it, she was still a little embarrassed to admit to him what she liked - although he probably already knew). She approached Danny from behind, going to see if he liked her lunch idea. He still had his earbuds in, so he didn't hear he coming, continuing to skim the news article on his screen.

He scrolled down and there was a picture that looked so surreal that it could've been photoshopped. It was of a kid, about the same age as Danny, who had white hair, wearing some sort of black jumpsuit, and was floating a few feet off of the ground. The picture was captioned in capital letters: 'AMITY'S HERO: MIA?' Danny's eyes lingered on the photo for a while and Alicia couldn't break her own captivation. There was something… off about that picture.

Hadn't Maddie mentioned that Danny could look like a ghost, but wasn't? That he had… another _form_? That he had been using his abilities to pose as the town's superhero?

Alicia hadn't gotten the chance to mentally digest that yet, but that picture of Danny's other self forced her to reevaluate her sister's error in a new context. When Maddie said that she hadn't recognized Danny, Alicia thought that she was exaggerating, making excuses. But that picture of him… with bleached white hair and toxic green eyes, only a shadow of life within him, proved that Danny's duality was much more innate than Alicia had initially believed.

Danny scrolled down on the page and Alicia shook herself out of her reverie. She nudged his shoulder and acted like she had just walked up. Danny flinched (something inevitable when it came to physical contact), not-so-subtly switched tabs, and pulled out his earbuds. "Yeah?"

"Would you like to go out for lunch?" she asked, ignoring how he tried to hide what he was looking at. She told him about the cafe He didn't seem very excited about eating, but he agreed that it was probably a good time to get a meal. They left the library for the day and returned home after the cafe.

* * *

Alicia usually didn't keep a close eye on her dogs whenever she let them out to use the bathroom. They knew to stay close to the house and she trusted them all not to run away. But when she opened the door to let them inside, she realized that something was up whenever Casey was the only one waiting on the porch. She glanced around and couldn't find Mercury or Meryl anywhere. With a pang of worry, she ushered Casey inside and went out to look for her other two dogs. It was 8pm and the sun had already set but there was still some light left in the sky, embers of daylight. She peeked around the bushes and started to get more nervous.

"Meryl! Mercury!" she called out. "Come here girl! Come on boy! Be good dogs!"

She didn't hear anything, didn't see anything. There was no indication where her dogs had ran off to and it was getting darker by the second.

"MERYL! MERCURY! MER, MERC!" she called out. She thought of things that may lure them out, "You want food? Are you hungry?"

Still nothing, until she heard a small whimper. Then a bark. Followed by more frantic barking. Both of her dogs were crying out to her; something was very wrong.

She chased the sound through the thicket of trees, stepping over tree roots and trudging through fallen leaves. The barking was getting closer, she was almost there. And then, she turned around a tree and saw Meryl; she was barking hysterically, unharmed, but afraid. She noticed startlingly that Meryl had blood on her face, matted around her mouth. Not good, not good at all.

Meryl ran to her and Alicia numbly patted her head to assess that she was okay. She couldn't get over the blood. Where - where was Mercury? She pushed past Meryl and searched for him, the wonderful brown-furred asshole that she loved. Meryl weaved around her legs, seeming to try and guide Alicia.

Moments later, she found Mercury, pained and screaming in agony. His eyes were bulging out of his head and he continued to bark in a wounded frenzy. His leg was blotched with red, twisted and caught in a thorn bush. The thorns were stuck in his leg, and the more he moved, the deeper they dug into his skin. Suddenly, the blood around Meryl's mouth made sense; she had been trying to pull Mercury out of the bush herself.

"Shit," Alicia panicked. "Shit, _shit_ , SHIT."

She reached for Mercury's leg, hoping to see if she could pry the thorns out of his flesh, but he howled when she touched him. She recoiled, afraid of injuring him more. What was she supposed to do? If she couldn't touch the bush without making things worse, how could she help him? If only she had something to trim the bush, to cut the thorns away - but she didn't. She'd left her pocket knife at the house. She could always go back and get it, but Mercury was severely bleeding. She didn't want to leave he and Meryl alone.

"What do I do!" she cried helplessly, clenching her own arm. No, she had to stay level-headed. She had to find a solution. She had to help her boy.

Something crunched behind her. Alicia turned and saw Danny approaching. She exhaled in relief that it wasn't some kind of predator attracted to Mercury's blood.

"Wh - what's going on?" he asked. "I heard the barking from the house."

"Merc's stuck in a thorn bush - he's bleedin' badly, really bad. I - I can't get him out," she rambled, getting back on her knees and attempting to pull away some of the branches. It didn't work and Mercury let out another resounding yelp. "I don't - I dunno what to do," her voice cracked.

Danny stared at her. She didn't waste any time in making a third attempt. Fed up with this _fucking_ bush, she tried violently pulling it apart which resulted in about three thorns getting embedded in her palm. She screamed out in surprise as she registered the white hot pain that came from the spikes breaking her skin. She grit her teeth and tried to pull one of the thorns out - _it hurt so much_ \- but when she managed to pull it out, the pain doubled. She squinted her eyes shut and realized what a dumbass move that'd been; you weren't supposed to just rip things out of your body when your were injured.

There was a blur of movement in front of her. Alicia blinked the tears out of her eyes and realized that Danny was standing between her and Mercury. She watched dumbly as he reached out for the bush, doing nothing to prevent him from repeating her mistake. It dawned on her too late that he wasn't going to stop. "Danny, wai-"

He wrapped his fingers around one of the thorn branches. But… his fingers weren't there? His entire arm was a pale, translucent blue up to his elbow. She could see _through_ his arm, like it wasn't even tangible. Alicia watched was awestruck when she realized that Danny was making the weird blueness spread to the bush.

The entire bush became transparent, including the thorns that had trapped Mercury, but not Mercury himself. Danny kept his transparent hand on the bush and used his other hand to maneuver Mercury out from where the bush should've been. Once Mercury was clear of the thornbush, he let go of the bush and whatever he was doing to make his hand see-through.

Danny immediately clutched his chest, also seething in pain. " _Stupid injured core_ ," he hissed. He leaned against a tree trunk, trying to maintain balance. Alicia stared at him as he did so, stricken by how unkempt he looked in that moment. Using that… _power_ … really did a number on him. Yet, he still didn't think twice about freeing Mercury.

He noticed her fixated stare and paled. He moved his hands from his chest up to his hair and started breathing faster. _Oh no_ … not again. "I'm sorry," he whimpered. "I'm sorry that I - I did that without - _asking_. That was…"

He was afraid of her, afraid that she was judging him for using his powers at all - when in fact it was the opposite. She hadn't told him that she had seen his eyes burn green in the dark, that she had seen the picture of his other form at the library; from his perspective this was her first direct confrontation with his inhumanity. It wasn't, and she wasn't very startled by it. Yes, she was taken aback, but not in a way that he'd expect.

He hadn't realized that she had already accepted him. Thus, he was panicking, belittling himself through a lense of self-hatred.

"Danny, it's alright," she told him. She probably looked just as pathetic, on the ground, leaves sticking to her clothing. There were still thorns in her hands and she was bleeding out. Meryl was trying to lick the blood off now, to make Alicia better, but she pushed her away. A few feet away, Mercury was still on the ground, laying still but would be okay.

"No," he said. His voice was raw and broken, shameful. Yes, that's what it was: he was ashamed. "No, you… you don't even understand what I am."

She shook her head. "It's okay, I do."

"No you don't!" he protested. His eyes glimmered with desperation, pallid cheeks, and his lipped thinned with disgusting. "I'm a _freak_ ," he stressed. "I - I shouldn't... sh-"

Despite the throbbing in her palm, Alicia pulled herself up and closed the distance between them. Danny looked scared at her abrupt movement, but didn't do anything to try and flee. His eyes darted around, trying to look anywhere but her.

"You're not a freak," she told him, boldly. Since his arrival, they had avoided talking about the particulars of what Danny was. Even during his last breakdown, it felt taboo to mention. But now, they were both breaking those rules. She was _done_ with this tension between them. She was done with censoring their conversations, their interactions. That's all that they had done during his visit and it was time to end that _bullshit_.

"Sure, you're not normal, but you're not a 'freak'," she resumed. "You're a good kid, and that's all that matters - you just got some extra stuff about you. Ghost powers? Those are the least of my concern. I worry for you hon, and all this internalized self-hatred has gotta stop. Trust me, I speak from experience. Took me years to get over my homophobia, but when I did, everything was so much better."

His mouth opened and then closed for a moment. "Th - that's different-" he sputtered. "You're just gay. I'm _not human_."

She snorted, "According to the Bible-thumpers we're the same, then. Seriously hon, you're a sweet guy. Hell, apparently you're a superhero? You gotta strong moral compass, probably stronger than mine. Who cares that you're different from the rest of us?"

" _I_ do…" he broke off, mumbling, "and Mom and Dad do…."

Alicia crossed her arms, "Your Mom and Dad accept you. They coulda left you to die after what happened, but instead… do you know how broken Mads was once she realized what she'd done? When she called me hours after, sobbing, destroying herself. They also see you for who you are - as their son. Why can't you?"

"I don't… I don't know," he choked. "Because that has to be why so many things are wrong with me, right? Because I'm like _this_."

"There's something wrong with everybody, but you just gotta overcome that part of you that rejects that part of yourself. You have to accept your experiences and who you are and try to be the best _you_."

He fell silent, unable to respond. Eventually he looked at her quizzically. "Is… are there still thorns in your hand?"

"Huh?" she asked. "Oh, yeah - but it's fine," she dismissed. "I'll gettem out with tweezers later."

He shook his head, adopting a sudden look of determination. "I got you." He reached out for her palm and pressed his hand into hers. It hurt for a moment, until suddenly her entire went numb and tingly; blue and transparent. The two thorns that were left in her hand fell onto the ground, leaving behind two clean punctures left in her hand. Luckily, the way that he had removed them caused minimal bleeding.

His casual exhibition of powers spoke more than either of them could. And like that, the previous tension dissipated, as Danny took her words into consideration.

"Thanks," she smiled, turning her hand over. It still hurt like hell but the removal of the thorns helped the pain go down exponentially.

"Don't mention it," he answered.

And she didn't. Because even though Danny had some not-so-human abilities and experiences, all he needed to do was accept that side of himself. Alicia already accepted him; she needed to support him so that he could realize that he was worth it. He needed to accept that even though he was different, that his differences made _him_ himself.


End file.
